Severn Trent puts unit on the block August 8, 2012 Water company Severn Trent yesterday put its Analytical Services business up for sale to address competition concerns. The unit, which provides water testing and landfill monitoring, accounts for around 1.5 per cent of group revenues, according to Severn Trent. Utilities regulator Ofwat yesterday opened a consultation into the sale proposal.
IAG hedges its Amadeus stake August 8, 2012 BA parent IAG yesterday locked in the value of Amadeus, by hedging its entire 7.5 per cent stake in the high-flying airline booking system. Madrid-listed Amadeus shares have risen by more than 30 percent over the past year, while Spain’s Ibex index slid by 15 per cent. The deal valued the shares at €492m.
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 8, 2012 Utilyx The energy management specialist has appointed Jo Butlin as its managing director. She has an extensive career in the energy sector, including senior roles at Powergen, and she most recently worked as vice president, operations at SmartestEnergy. Bahrain Mumtalakat The investment arm of the Kingdom of Bahrain has appointed Tony Robinson as its new [...]
BEST of the BROKERS August 8, 2012 SERCO UBS has moved its rating on the firm from “buy” to “neutral” with a target price of £6, after a strong share price performance, remaining upbeat on the UK and Europe but less optimistic on the US business. NATIONAL GRID Liberum Capital has upgraded the utility from “hold” to “buy” with a raised target [...]
Wall St almost flat as volumes remain down August 8, 2012 THE Standard & Poor’s 500 just barely extended a streak of gains to a fourth day yesterday, ending above 1,400 in another thinly traded session. Expectations for stimulus from the European Central Bank and the US Federal Reserve triggered the recent gains, but investors found little reason to keep pushing stocks higher after driving the [...]
FTSE maintains its four-month high despite hit from ex-dividend stocks August 8, 2012 BRITAIN’S blue chip share index rose by just a few points yesterday, consolidating around a four-month peak as a slide in a batch of stocks trading without their dividend entitlements offset gains in banking and mining stocks. Fifteen blue chip stocks traded ex-dividend yesterday including heavyweights Royal Dutch Shell, BP, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, and Barclays knocking [...]
Only radical reform can pull us out of a growing economic quagmire August 8, 2012 OLYMPIC mania seems unable to prevent the coalition from entering a new crisis phase. The latest nail in the coffin was the Bank of England revising down its UK growth forecast for 2012 to zero, which heaped more pressure on a government already beset by political problems. The abandonment of House of Lords reform has [...]
Romney can mobilise the Tea Party without Sarah Palin’s divisive favours August 8, 2012 FOUR years after she was plucked from Juneau, Alaska, in an ill-fated attempt to save John McCain’s presidential campaign, Sarah Palin continues to confound. Books, Tea Party rallies and appearances on Fox News have provided her with a powerful soapbox. In this year’s Republican Senate primaries, just one of the five candidates she has endorsed [...]
For the love of the Games: London’s Olympics heroes August 8, 2012 THE country’s heroic athletes may have grabbed all the headlines, but they are far from the only Britons to have risen to the challenge of making the London 2012 Olympics such an overwhelming, mood-boosting success. There is another group of people, which has brought every bit as much sunshine into the lives of Londoners, and [...]
As Manchester United nears its share listing, is the club likely to prosper by going public? August 8, 2012 YES Tom Cannon Manchester United’s listing raises issues at the heart of football finance. This listing values United almost 50 per cent greater than the £1.5bn it is quoted at elsewhere. But there are three ways it can be justified. First, the club has potential, especially if it can monetise its Asian fan base. Secondly, [...]
